Packaging carton

ABSTRACT

A parallelepipedic packaging carton having at the end thereof an entrance opening closed by inwardly directed flaps is provided with additional inwardly directed flaps engaging said closing flaps to prevent them from folding outwardly but permitting their folding inwardly.

D United States Patent 11 1 1111 3,884,350

Johansson May 20, 1975 54] PACKAGING CARTON 2,151,733 3/1939 Bonfield .I.- 229/39 R 2,593,689 4/1952 Mitchell 229/38 X [751 Invent Gumlal' Jhanssm vlmmerby 2,614,883 /1952 Anderson, Jr. et al. 229/39 R x Sweden 3,178,096 4/1965 Reeves et a1. 229/39 R 3,253,769 5/1966 Opler [73] Asslgnee' Aknebolag Ihverken Bromona 3,658,236 4/1972 Ringholm et a1 229/39 R x Sweden [22] Filed: Nov. 17, 1972 Primary Examiner-William 1. Price [21] Appl. No.: 307,496 Assistant Examiner-Steven E. Lipman Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Pierce, Scheffler & Parker Foreign Application Priority Data Nov. 15, 1971 Sweden 14599/71 57 ABSTRA T [52] U.S. Cl. 206/44.12; 206/45.34; 206/420; 1 C

2.06/486; 229/ 38; 229/39 B A parallelepipedic packaging carton having at the end [51] '3 Bd 5/10 865d /58 865d /42 thereof an entrance opening closed by inwardly di- [58] Fleld of Search 206M412, 45.34, 46 ED, rected flaps is providedwith additional inwardly 206/56 56 56 65 229/17 rected flaps engaging said closing flaps to prevent 9 them from folding outwardly but permitting their folding inwardly. [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures 1,806,149 5/1931 Daugherty 229/38 X PATENTED MAY 2 0 i975 SHEET 10F 2 Fig. 3

1 PACKAGING CARTON BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a packaging carton having parallelepipedic shape for packaging a single object or a row of similar objects, the object or the row of objects, respectively, extending between the walls of the carton from one of two opposite sides to the other, and having an entrance opening closed by a pair of closing flaps directed obliquely inwardly into the carton and extending along one pair of opposite margins of the entrance opening. I

Swedish Pat. No. 306,694 describes a packaging carton of this kind which is intended for packaging a number of fuses. The function of the packaging carton entirely is based on the fact that the fuses as usual have a neck and cannot function in the intended manner for packaging cylindrical or parallelepipedic objects without a neck. In the prior art packaging carton the entrance opening is provided in one of two long sides located opposite each other, the packaging taking place by the packaging carton being threaded onto the fuses standing in a line upside down. This packaging method is not particularly suitable for use in full automatic packaging machines.

The packaging carton according to the invention has been devised specially for automatic packaging of fuses in a more rational manner than is permitted in the prior art packaging carton but may also be used for other articles than fuses, e.g., for packaging stick torch batteries, in order to mention yet another example.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a packaging carton having parallelepipedic shape for packaging a single object or a row of similar objects to extend between the walls of the carton from one of two opposite sides to the other side, an entrance opening being provided in said carton, said entrance opening being closed by a pair of closing flaps directed obliquely inwardly into the carton and extending along one pair of opposed margins of said entrance opening, wherein said, entrance opening is provided in one of said opposed sides and has a pair of locking flaps directed obliquely inwardly along the other pair of opposed sides, said locking flaps engaging with said closing flaps in order to prevent said closing flaps from folding outwardly from the carton but permitting them to be folded inwardly into the carton while said objects are introduced one by one through said entrance opening.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS DETAILED DESCRIPTION The packaging carton shown in FIG. 1 for fuses has a parallelepipedic shape and comprises two flat sides and 11 and four marginal sides, namely two long sides 12 and 13 and two short sides 14 and 15. When the packaging carton occupies the position shown in FIG. 1 it is intended that five fuses should be aligned on the wall forming the long side: 13, circular apertures 16 being provided in the said wall in order to permit checking that the fuses are intact, i.e., that the small signal disk is still at the end of the fuse, without making it necessary to remove the fuses from the carton. In the short side 14 there is provided an entrance opening 17 of a special construction while the short side 15 is completely closed by means of flaps folded inwardly. In order to make it possible to take out fuses from the carton there are provided two openings 18 and 19, one of which extends over part of one half of the package, partly in the flat side 10 and partly in the long side 12, while the other one extends over the other half, partly in the flat side 11 and partly in the long side 12. In the flat side 10, finally, there is provided a flap 20 defined by perforation and having apertures 21, and this flap can be pulled out from the flat side 10 and be folded backwards against the short side 14 in order to permit the package to be suspended from a display stand or the like.

The carton blank in FIG. 4 has panels for forming the two flat sides and the two long sides, said panels having corresponding reference numerals as the respective sides. The panels 10 and 11 merge with the panel 13 at crease lines 22 and 23, respectively. While the panel 11 merges with the panel 12 at a crease line 24 the panel 10 is connected at a crease line 25 to a sealing flap 26 which is glued to the panel 12 on the inside thereof after folding the blank to form a parallelepidedic tube at the crease lines 22 to 25. In the panel 10 there is punched a parallel trapezoidal recess 27 which faces a parallel trapezoidal recess 28 in the glue flap 26, said latter recess being congruent with a marginal recess 29 in the panel 12 when the blank is folded to form a tube in the manner described. In that connection said recesses form the opening 18, which has such a shape that the fuses without further cannot fall out through the opening but can be manually withdrawn while deforming the adjacent carton walls to a certain extent, from the packaging carton through said opening or the corresponding opening 19 at the opposite side of the carton, which is formed by a parallel trapezoidal recess 30 in the panel 11 and a recess 31 in the panel 12 facing said recess 30 in the panel 11.

The short side 15 is closed by means of flaps 32 to 35 connected at a through crease line 36 to the respective panels 10 to 13. The flap 32 has a parallel trapezoidal marginal recess 37, while the flap 34 tapers from its base and forms a rectangular tongue 38. The two flaps 33 and 35 also taper from their base at their margins facing away from the flap 34 in order to form tongues 39 and 40, respectively. The short side 15 is closed with these flaps in such a way that the flap 32 is folded inwardly over the open end of the parallelepipedic carton tube obtained by folding and gluing together the carton. Thereupon the flaps 33 and 35 are folded against each other and will partly lie over the flap'32 with the tongues 39 and 40 located over the recess 37. Thereupon, when the flap 34 has finally been folded inwardly over the previously folded flaps, the tongue 38 therefore may be moved in beneath the flap 32 in the recess 37 through the slot between the flap 32 and the tongues 39 and 40, so that the tongue 38 will be located beneath the flap 32, as shown in FIG. 1. The closure of the short side 15 of the packaging carton thus obtained does not have to be glued but will be held together as a result of the internal locking of the flaps against pressure exerted from inside against the side by the fuses packed in the carton.

The short side 14 with the entrance opening 17 is of a special design which permits the fuses to be introduced into the packaging carton but which will effectively prevent them from falling out of the carton through the short side 14. Said short side is partly closed by means of two closing flaps 41 and 42 and two locking flaps 43 and 44, said flaps merging with the respective panels 10 to 13 at a through crease line 45. At their respective short ends the closing flaps 41 are provided with notches 46 and 47, respectively, the closing flaps between the notches having parallel trapezoidal shape. The locking flaps 43 and 44 are approximately T-shaped, the T-shape being provided by triangular notches 48 and 49, respectively, being made in the side margins of the flaps, whereby the T has a stem widening towards the base. The partial closing of the short side '14 of the packaging carton is provided by the closing flaps 41 and 42 being folded into the carton tube so that they extend from the two flat sides 10 and 11 obliquely inwardly into the carton, after which the locking flaps 43 and 44 are folded into the carton while deforming the cross-piece of the T and moved inwardly inside the flaps 41 and 42. As a result of their resiliency in a backward direction the locking flaps 43 and 44 then have come into contact with the closing flaps 41 and 42 in the notches 46 and 47, respectively, as is shown in FIG. 3, where the locking flap has been shown in more powerful outline than the rest of the packaging carton in order that its location in relation to the remaining portions may be distinctly set forth. The locking flaps are prevented by the closing flaps from moving outwardly from their position in the interior of the carton while the closing flaps in turn are prevented from moving outwardly from the carton as a result of engaging with the stem of the T-shaped locking flaps 43 and 44. Thus, the flaps 41 to 44 are held in the position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 as a result of mutual cooperation, in which position the entrance opening 17 is defined between them. However, the fuses may be introduced into the packaging carton through this opening since the relative engagement of the flaps permits the closing flaps 17 to be moved away against the flat sides 10 and 11 when a fuse from outside is pressed againstthe closing flaps at the same time as the closing flaps 43 and 44 may yield while swinging towards the respective long sides 12 and 13, without the flaps becoming disconnected from each other. When the fuse has entered the carton, the flaps will spring back into the position shown and will remain in said position as a result of the relative engagement between them. Through this engagement the flaps are prevented from being moved out of the interior of the carton if a pressure were exerted from inside against the flaps.

The closing of the short side 14 in the manner described entails a simple packaging operation, in that a row of five fuses may be moved from the said short side into the packaging carton while the flaps 41 to 44 yield.

An additional advantage of the packaging carton described is that by means of a simple paper ribbon it is possible to make for instance five packages into a bundle without deforming the packages, as is the case when using the above-mentioned prior-art packaging carton.

The package is particularly well suited for packaging a plurality of identical objects disposed in a row one after the other but may be used with equal advantage for packaging single objects.

What 1 claim is:

1. A parallelepipedic packaging carton having at one side four flaps extending, from respective ones of four edges which together define a rectangle, obliquely into the interior of the container leaving a substantial opening at the center of said one side, each of first and second of the flaps which extend from opposite ones of said edges having, proceeding from the root of the flap towards its tip, a sudden reduction in width whereby two shoulders are formed at opposite extremities of said width and each of the other flaps. proceeding from the root of the flap towards its tip, having a progressive reduction in width followed by a sudden increase in width where there are two ears extending away from one another, said flaps interlocking with one another to prevent any flap swinging out of the carton, said first and second flaps being displaceable inwardly by an article wider than said opening, passing through the opening into the carton, after which the opening automatically narrows by reverse movement of the first and second flaps to prevent the article coming out of the carton through the opening, the carton being further distinguished in that that side thereof opposite'the aforesaid one side is formed by four interlocking flaps which are substantially parallel to one another and together form an end wall perpendicular to four of the other sides of the carton.

2. A packaging carton having parallelepipedic shape for packaging a single object or a row of similar objects to extend between the walls of the carton from one of a first pair of opposite short sides to the other side; an entrance opening being provided in one of said opposite short sides; an opening for withdrawing contents located partly in the one and partly in the other one of two sides of the carton bordering on each other and extending in the longitudinal direction of a row of objects in the carton; said entrance being closed by a pair of closing flaps directed obliquely inwardly into the carton and extending along one pair of opposite margins of said entrance opening; a pair of locking flaps which are directed obliquely inwardly being provided along a second pair of opposite sides; said locking flaps engaging with said closing flaps in order to prevent said closing flaps from folding outwardly from the carton but permitting them to be folded inwardly in the carton while an object is introduced through said entrance opening; wherein each closing flap extends away from a hinge line and each has two shoulders facing away from said hinge line, said shoulders being for engagement with said locking flaps, and; wherein each locking flap extends in tapering manner away from the hinge line followed by a sudden increase in width to provide shoulders for engagement with the shoulders of said closing flap, and thereby the one of the short sides having said entrance opening being shaped as a hopper which has a parallelepipedic entrance opening the sides of which are capable of being opened and closed by spring action.

3. A packaging carton as claimed in claim 2, wherein two openings for withdrawing the' contents are provided each on one side of the'caritori after one another in the longitudinal direction of the row.

4. A packaging carton having parallelepipedic shape for packaging a single object or a row of similar objects to extend between the walls of the carton from one of a first pair of opposite short sides to the other side; an entrance opening being provided in one of said 0pposite short sides; an opening for withdrawing contents located partly in the one and partly in the other one of two sides of the carton bordering on each other and extending in the longitudinal direction of a row of objects in the carton; said entrance being closed by a pair of closing flaps directed obliquently inwardly into the carton and extending along one pair of opposite margins of said entrance opening; a pair of locking flaps which are directed obliquely inwardly being provided along a second pair of opposite sides; said locking flaps engaging with said closing flaps in order to prevent said closing flaps from folding outwardly from the carton but permitting them to be folded inwardly in the carton while an object is introduced through said entrance opening; wherein each closing flap extends away from a hinge line and each has two shoulders facing away from said hinge line, said shoulders being for engagement with said locking flaps, and; wherein each locking flap extends in tapering manner away from the hinge line followed by a sudden increase in width to provide shoulders for engagement with the shoulders of said closing flaps. and thereby the one of the short sides having said entrance opening being shaped as a hopper which has a parallelepipedic entrance opening the sides of which are capable of being opened and closed by spring action. 

1. A parallelepipedic packaging carton having at one side four flaps extending, from respective ones of four edges which together define a rectangle, obliquely into the interior of the container leaving a substantial opening at the center of said one side, each of first and second of the flaps which extend from opposite ones of said edges having, proceeding from the root of the flap towards its tip, a sudden reduction in width whereby two shoulders are formed at opposite extremities of said width and each of the other flaps, proceeding from the root of the flap towards its tip, having a progressive reduction in width followed by a sudden increase in width where there are two ears extending away from one another, said flaps interlocking with one another to prevent any flap swinging out of the carton, said first and second flaps being displaceable inwardly by an article wider than said opening, passing through the opening into the carton, after which the opening automatically narrows by reverse movement of the first and second flaps to prevent the article coming out of the carton through the opening, the carton being further distinguished in that that side thereof opposite the aforesaid one side is formed by four interlocking flaps which are substantially parallel to one another and together form an end wall perpendicular to four of the other sides of the carton.
 2. A packaging carton having parallelepipedic shape for packaging a single object or a row of similar objects to extend between the walls of the carton from one of a first pair of opposite short sides to the other side; an entrance opening being provided in one of said opposite short sides; an opening for withdrawing contents located partly in the one and partly in the other one of two sides of the carton bordering on each other and extending in the longitudinal direction of a row of objects in the carton; said entrance being closed by a pair of closing flaps directed obliquely inwardly into the carton and extending along one pair of opposite margins of said entrance opening; a pair of locking flaps which are directed obliquely inwardly being provided along a second pair of opposite sides; said locking flaps engaging with said closing flaps in order to prevent said closing flaps from folding outwardly from the carton but permitting them to be folded inwardly in the carton while an object is introduced through said entrance opening; wherein each closing flap extends away from a hinge line and each has two shoulders facing away from said hinge line, said shoulders being for engagement with said locking flaps, and; wherein each locking flap extends in tapering manner away from the hinge line followed by a sudden increase in width to provide shoulders for engagement with the shoulders of said closing flap, and thereby the one of the short sides having said entrance opening being shaped as a hopper which has a parallelepipedic entrance opening the sides of which are capable of being opened and closed by spring action.
 3. A packaging carton as claimed in claim 2, wherein two openings for withdrawing the contents are provided each on one side of the carton after one another in the longitudinal direction of the row.
 4. A packaging carton having parallelepipedic shape for packaging a single object or a row of similar objects to extend between the walls of the carton from one of a first pair of opposite short sides to the other side; an entrance opening being provided in one of said opposite short sides; an opening for withdrawing contents located partly in the one and partly in the other one of two sides of the carton bordering on each other and extending in the longitudinal direction of a row of objects in the carton; said entrance being closed by a pair of closing flaps directed obliquently inwardly into the carton and extending along one pair of opposite margins of said entrance opening; a pair of locking flaps which are directed obliquely inwardly being provided along a second pair of opposite sides; said locking flaps engaging with said closing flaps in order to prevent said closing flaps from folding outwardly from the carton but permitting them to be folded inwardly in the carton while an object is introduced through said entrance opening; wherein each closing flap extends away from a hinge line and each has two shoulders facing away from said hinge line, said shoulders being for engagement with said locking flaps, and; wherein each locking flap extends in tapering manner away from the hinge line followed by a sudden increase in width to provide shoulders for engagement with the shoulders of said closing flaps, and thereby the one of the short sides having said entrance opening being shaped as a hopper which has a parallelepipedic entrance opening the sides of which are capable of being opened and closed by spring action. 